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Leo Babsky (b. 19 January 1982) is an English sculptor and visual artist. Babsky's work examines the troubling psychological concerns of containment, control attraction and revulsion. Tactile and flexible elements reference post-minimalism but combined into new structural landscapes, discuss both the obsessional and the sexual.

Using the conceptual models that surround minimalism, Babsky explores personal and social concerns of psyhcological impulses toward dark or destructive forms of behaviour, particularly found during youth and within subcultures.

Treading a fine line between attraction and revulsion, carefully crafted elements draw the attention of the viewer in, only to leave an unsettling aftertaste. Flashes of psychedelic colour in an otherwise muted palette reference dance and drug culture - highlighting the contrast between the glamourous surfaces and dark flip sides of these activities. The use of rubber throughout the pieces permeates the work with a sexual undercurrent referencing gay and fetish subcultures whilst also adhering to the minimalist ethos of using basic, industrial materials.

[edit] Artistic schooling

Babsky studied Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

[edit] Principal Works

[edit] Make A Sick Picture (After Duchamp) (2007)

Make A Sick Picture is a digital print.

[edit] Untitled (Dam) (2007)

This is a large (nearly 5ft tall) wall mounted sculpture comprising wood, rubber and hardware, somewhat in contrast to Babsky's more recent work which tend to comprise smaller freestanding sculptural pieces. First exhibited at the Central St. Martin's Interim Show (2007) it was described by the Saatchi Galleries exhibition reviewer as:

Leo Babsky's 'Untitled (Dam)', a wall-mounted sculpture of wood, rubber and hardware used the power of association, created through symbols, signs and evocative placing of material to engage the viewer's attention and elicit a response. In this instance, the folds of the black rubber rippled onto the floor like unstoppable waves, all the energy of the piece directed down the wooden support, save for a small rectangle inadvertently pinned against the wall - a last-ditch attempt to halt gravity in its tracks (Saatchi Gallery Feb 2007).

[edit] Decorated Tensions (for Robert Morris) (2008)

Decorated Tensions (for Robert Morris) is a sculpture in rubber, rope and thread.

[edit] Slick Bolt - Hole (2008)

Slick Bolt - Hole is a sculpture in rubber, fabric, wood, paint.

[edit] Exhibitions

• Central St. Martin's Interim Show Bargehouse Space, Oxo Tower, London - 26 to 28 January 2007
• I WANT A LITTLE SUGAR IN MY BOWL Asia Song Society, 45 Canal Street - 9 August to 24 August 2008
• EXORCISMS at The Steps Gallery, Moreton Street, Pimlico, London - 13 March to 2 May 2009

[edit] Further reading

• The Steps Gallery (2009) EXORCISMS London: The Steps Gallery (2009).

[edit] External links

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• Babsky featured on THE SAATCHI GALLERY blog review of the Central St. Martin's Interim Show - Feb 2007